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Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Give Them What They Want

The best feeling in the world, as an author, is when your
readers are begging for more from you. That is when you finally feel like
you’ve made it. When you’ve done something that was so abstract and untouchable
for so long.

But how do you do that?

Series is definitely queen when it comes to romance, but you
can’t just write a bunch of books and call them a series. You have to leave
readers dying for the next one in the series. And the next. And the next.

The best way to do this, I’ve found, is to create a series where
all the characters have storylines. No, I don’t mean include points of view
from ten different characters, although you can do that if you want. What I
mean is keep their stories going.

The thirteenth book in my series is out today. I only planned on
eight. I only wrote eight. I only had eight characters.

But my readers demanded more. So I wrote them.

The couple that got together in the first book is still
prominent even in book thirteen. So is every other couple in the series. The
books center around a group of friends, and they get together every week. There
are at least three scenes in each book where there is a large crowd of people
with their own voices, their own storylines, and their own input in the main
character’s life.

And you think a family gathering is tough!

My first couple had a baby in book eight. Couple number four has
struggled with fertility issues for years. Couple number nine doesn’t want to
get married, but their relationship still moves forward.

Their stories aren’t over when their book is done.

And that’s why my readers keep coming back.

Yeah, they love the new characters, too. But every reader has a
favorite couple. They want to read the new story, but they want to know what’s
going on with their favorite couple. They love that things keep moving for
every couple.

And I love that they keep coming back for more!

An excerpt

“Want to come up for
a drink?” he asked when we got out of the SUV.

I dug for my keys and
shook my head. “I should get home. More wine and I won’t be able to drive, and
we both have to work tomorrow.”

I wanted to spend
more time with him, but I knew I had to be there for my patients in the morning.
I wasn’t giving up my career. No matter what. Plus, I didn’t need more to
drink. Wine before dinner and with dinner was enough.

“Peyton,” he said,
his voice dipping lower. “We both know I wasn’t really asking you up for
another glass of wine.”

“Oh, really?” I asked
with a grin. “Then why were you asking me up?”

“I think you know
why.”

“I’m a little slow
when it comes to men. You should probably spell it out for me.”

He yanked my body
tight against his, shocking a gasp out of me. He dipped his head to my ear and
whispered, “I want to get you naked.” He kissed my neck. “And finish what we
started over the weekend.” He kissed my jaw. “And find out once and for all if
we’re as good together in bed as we are as friends.”

He ended his argument
with a kiss. A demanding one that had me clutching his shoulders for support. I
was powerless to resist his assault on my senses. He knew I wanted him. I knew
he wanted me. And the dance we’d been doing was messing with my head.

Ample & Alluring

His determination is as ample as the snow. Her beauty is as alluring
as Christmas.

Peyton Prescott has always turned to her work. It’s her happy
place, where she’s most comfortable and knows exactly what to do. She helps
couples get pregnant, and she’s damn good at it.

But it’s not everything.

Mayor Wyatt Ramsey is a friend. A friend of a friend really. But
when he finds out Peyton has always hated Christmas, he decides it’s his job to
make her see the beauty of the season that only brings loneliness for Peyton.

As the two of them get to know each other, neither can deny
their attraction. What starts as an innocent friendship quickly becomes
something Peyton doesn’t want to walk away from. But what happens if she
becomes exactly what she never wanted to be?

Mary E. Thompson grew up loving to read, like a good little
girl. Many nights she would fall asleep with the flashlight still turned on as
she hid under the covers trying to finish the last few pages of a book. As an
adult, the light from her ereader means she doesn't need a flashlight, but she
still stays up way too late to finish a book.

When Mary's not reading, she's playing with her two kids or
living out her own real life romance novel with her hubby. She has a weakness
for chocolate, especially when it's paired with peanut butter, and has been
known to have a bad day just because there's no chocolate in the house. Unless
there’s wine. Then everything is okay.

Mary grew up in Buffalo, New York and swears she's the only
local to never ski or snowboard. Soccer was always her sport, with a couple
adventures white water rafting and skydiving to keep things interesting. Mary
moved to South Carolina for college but missed Buffalo every day. Yeah, she
thinks she's crazy, too. She somehow convinced her South Carolina born and bred
hubby to return to Buffalo to raise their kids and live out their lives. He’s
still not sure what he was thinking.

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